He Keeps Me Warm
by Rebekah Mikaelson
Summary: Jeremy is feeling guilty and has something to tell Elena. But he isn't sure what she will think about his relationship with a certain original. Jerelena (sibling fluff).


Elena sighed, washing the final dish that had been in the sink. She and Elijah had went away for the weekend, and when she returned, the kitchen had been a mess. There was dirty dishes everywhere, brownies she was pretty sure had pot in them, and junk food all over the living room.

According to Rebekah when she stopped by earlier to receive something Elena had bought her, Kol and Matt had both been over here all weekend with Jeremy. They had apparently been having some kind of video game fest, which had led to this mess.

While she was glad Jeremy was hanging out with friends, and the youngest male Mikaelson was making friends, she wished they would have kept the place a little cleaner.

While she was vacuuming the carpet, she heard the front door open. Knowing whoever it was, was either human or invited in, she just continued to clean.

"Elena...you are home earlier than I expected..." Jeremy said from the doorway, stopping when he saw his sister cleaning.

She turned around and raised her eyebrows. "You knew I was coming home today,"

"But I figured you and Elijah would take longer to get home...I know how you two are." He said, scrunching his face up in disgust.

Elena chuckled, and stepped around the vacuum. She wrapped Jeremy in a hug, smiling when he returned the gesture. As she was pulling away, she caught the lingering scent of a familiar expensive cologne. But it wasn't Jeremy's, no his didn't smell like that. No this she had smelled frequently at the Mikaelson mansion.

She didn't say anything, but pulled back and smiled up at him. "We brought you stuff back! Elijah picked this out, said he personally thought you would love it,"

Jeremy took the package his sister held out to him, and slowly opened it. Inside was a large, leather bound book. He opened it, and found inside it the best drawing paper he'd ever felt. Even the expensive paper his parents had bought him in middle school hadn't been this amazing.

"I wasn't sure what kind of pencils you used, so Klaus helped me out here..." Elena shrugged, holding out another package that contained pencils and custom charcoal.

She had been trying to find him something amazing to go with Elijah's gift, and eventually broke down and called the hybrid. While they weren't on great terms, their relationship wasn't anywhere near as rocky as it had been. She was on her way to forgiving, and he was trying to redeem himself. Of course, she figured that had to do with her best friend whom he was in love with.

He had told her the name of the person who custom made all of his own pencils and charcoal.

Jeremy looked at the things in his hands, and felt the guilt eating at him. "Elena...thank you. But, can we talk?" He asked softly.

If he was going to be one hundred percent honest, he was terrified of what needed to be said. But Elena had to know. And he wanted to tell her, even if he wasn't sure of her reaction.

"Whats up Jer? Can you not use them?" She asked, her smile fading into a frown.

"No! That's not it, they are perfect...too perfect." He said, plopping down on the couch.

She sat down beside him, turning to face him fully. "What's going on Jer?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

"I have been lying to you...to everyone. For a while." He said softly, and Elena noticed that his heartbeat stayed steady at the confession.

"What about?" What could it be that had her brother so bent out of shape.

"I...well you know I haven't really tried to date since Bonnie. And its not because I was still in love with her. I just...couldn't. I couldn't go on pretending that's who I was."

When Elena said nothing, he took a deep breath before continuing. "Lena, I'm gay. And I'm in love with Kol," he said softly, staring at a small hole in the knee of his pants.

When she still didn't say anything, he glanced up at her. Instead of her being upset or angry, as he had expected, she was smiling.

"I know," was all she said.

"What...but...how?" He stuttered.

"Do you really think I believed you were just going over there all the time to play video games? And when you came home, his scent was all over you. Just like it is now."

Jeremy stared at his sister, mouth agape as he flushed bright red.

"Jeremy I don't care who you are with. As long as you are happy and safe, that's all that matters." She said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Now, you wanna help me clean up these brownies?" She questioned with a wink, standing up.


End file.
